It's Time for Something Else
by charliaddict
Summary: Owen's just revealed he's stepping down as chief, but why? and how does it affect Amelia?
1. Chapter 1

Hello all you lovely people who've taken the time to read my story, thank you! Let me know what you think, it's my first time doing this so any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated :) Just so we all know these aren't my characters etc. I'm just having a little fun with them.

He walks into the Attending's lounge, it's been a long day fighting for Keith's life and he hadn't had a chance to stop all day. She's pacing over by the lockers, clearly not happy with whoever she's on the phone to. Waiting to get into his locker he perches on the edge of the table, running his hand over his face as he exhales a breath, looking down at the ground. He hears her groan with frustration as she hangs up and he watches her taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

'Is everything alright?' he questions.

She spins around, noticing him for the first time. 'Yeah, I just…' She drifts off mid-sentence, unsure how to carry on and getting lost in his eyes. 'I erm, I was just trying to book a hotel room for tonight but everywhere is full because of this damn convention that's in town.' She finally finishes, spinning away from him as she covers her face with her hands.

'What's wrong with yours?'

'Meredith and I had a fight' she quickly answers.

He nods understandingly; he'd noticed some tension between them earlier but hadn't wanted to pry, 'Well you know you're more than welcome to stay at mine.' He offers.

With a look on her face that clearly says she's pointing out the obvious, 'Owen, you only have one bed.'

'Yeah, I know. But it's better than what, crashing here?'

She looks down, unable to meet his eyes and he realises, 'You've already been staying here haven't you?'

'Only for a couple of nights…' she mumbled, looking everywhere but at him.

'Amelia' he walks over to her, leaning his shoulder against the lockers and putting his hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at him, 'Look, why don't you just come stay at mine tonight? You're not going to find anywhere else now.'

She's very aware that they've only ever shared a bed without having sex once, after she finally let everything she'd been feeling over Derek's death out, but looking at him now she's finding it very hard to say no. 'But…'

'But nothing, get your stuff together. I'm going to get changed and then we'll head off.'

Entering his trailer he tells her to put her stuff wherever whilst he starts making dinner for the two of them. He looks through his cupboards and wishes he'd had a chance to go to the store before but they were going to have to make do, neither had the energy to go anywhere now. She strikes up a conversation about some of the things she'd heard at the hospital that day whilst he finishes their meal. Once they've finished she helps him clear up and then stands looking around the room,

'So should I take the couch or…?' she trails off looking over to him,

'What? Why would you? Oh' he shakes his head realising what she means, 'Look, we're both exhausted, it's been a hell of a day. I'm sure we can manage one night sharing a bed.'

Nodding her head they make their way into his bedroom area when she realises the only thing she's packed to sleep in, she tells herself there's no turning back now and perhaps he won't notice. She pulls out her shorts and the t-shirt of his that she'd stolen when they'd been together with everything else she needs and smiling shyly at him she heads to his bathroom. Taking a couple of calming breaths she starts getting ready for bed; she feels on edge being near him, she's missed how close they were and she's not sure she's going to be able to control herself around him. Looking in the mirror she tells herself she can do this, after all he said how tired they both were earlier so they'd just go straight to sleep right? Finally summoning up the courage she goes back into the bedroom,

'I thought I'd lost that shirt' he commented, noticing her entire.

Rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly whilst trying to pull the hem down, taking in the way he was looking at her legs,

'Don't worry, it was an old one anyway,' he quickly added.

Climbing into bed she realised he was planning on keeping his top on, 'I thought you preferred sleeping without that on?' she questioned pointing towards the offending item, his only response was a little smirk, indicating she knew exactly why he'd be keeping that on.

Following her into bed they both lay on their sides facing one another,

'So what happened between you and Meredith?' he finally asked, wanting to do so all night. Wrapping her arms around herself in a protective manner she told him how this case had brought up all the memories of Derek's death and the questions she had surrounding it, she couldn't take it anymore and had snapped.

'I was wondering when that was going to happen,' he sighed.

Surprised by his reaction she looked into his eyes, feeling herself being drawn in again she quickly said goodnight and rolled over, leaving him to turn the lights off.

The first thing he notices when he wakes up is the scent of her, slowly opening his eyes he realises they've moved towards each other during the night and they're now wrapped around one another. Her hand had travelled under his shirt during the night and her leg had draped over his waist, resting dangerously close to a part of him he really hoped he could get under control before she noticed. He realised his hand was resting on her hip, his thumb caressing the slither of skin that had been exposed where his shirt had ridden up on her during the night, causing her to move towards him and his hand to tighten on her hip as her thigh grazed over him, waking her up. Sleepily she lifts her head, disorientated as he remembers her always being first thing in the morning, not realising how close they were to one another until their eyes lock. Their lips are inches from one another as her hand ghosts over his stomach causing the muscles to involuntarily clench as their breathing deepens. She swallows, causing his gaze to drop to her lips,

'I should get a shower,' he murmurs and all she can do is nod in response. Eventually he manages to drag himself away from her, angling himself in the hopes she won't notice anything, and heads straight to the bathroom. Flinging herself onto her back once he closes the door she releases her pent up frustrations in a loud breath and needing a distraction she gets up to make them breakfast, figuring it's the least she could do after he let her stay the night. Getting up she starts his coffee machine and looks through his fridge, finding some bacon and eggs she starts cooking; however once she catches a trace of his scent coming from the shower she can't help but imagine him coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her neck. Surprised when the boiling oil spits from the pan and lands on her hand she lets out a squeal, quickly turning everything off she ran her hand under some cold water. Hearing her Owen runs over to her, placing a hand on her lower back he leans over to check she's alright, feeling overwhelmed by his presence she places her hand on his chest to push him away,

'I'm fine Owen. If you want to be useful you can get some plates for us and pour the coffee.' She commented, shooing him away.

Turning away he couldn't help but think about how he wished this was how they spent every morning, getting ready to face the day together. Taking a couple of breaths to calm herself down she went to join him, impressed that he remembered how she likes her coffee. The two chatted about what they had coming up that day whilst they enjoyed a nice, relaxed breakfast until Amelia couldn't put off showering anymore and they finished getting ready for work before heading out.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the first chapter, all your reviews mean a lot to me and were really helpful. Hope you enjoy the next part :)

Maggie was handing a tablet over to a nurse with instructions to monitor her patient when she heard an outburst of laughter from down the hall. Turning around she saw Owen and Amelia walking together, oblivious to the rest of the world. She'd always known the two were close, but how close? She didn't see either of them act the way they did with anybody else and now they were arriving at the hospital together? Realising she was staring she quickly looked away whilst they said goodbye and Amelia walked over to join her.

'Hey' Amelia greeted.

'Hey. So somebody seems a lot happier today,' Maggie responded.

Not realising what Maggie was attempting to imply she replied 'Yeah, finally got a good night sleep, ready to face the day.'

'A good night sleep was it?'

Finally understanding exactly what Maggie was saying Amelia found herself getting flustered, 'It's not like that.'

'Sure.'

'No, we're just friends, strictly just friends.' Maggie looked at Amelia, clearly waiting for her to explain, 'Meredith and I had a fight and I just needed somewhere to crash last night, that's all it was.'

Completely unconvinced Maggie simply nods in agreement as the two begin to make their way to their patient's room.

Owen had spent his morning continuously being hounded about why he was stepping down as chief but it seemed that nobody would accept his answer that since returning he wanted to get back into surgery, not into helping run a hospital. Finally finding a moment to himself he heads to the cafeteria, hoping to be able to have his lunch in some peace. Noticing Amelia, Callie and Alex sitting together he grabs his food and heads over to join them,

'So what, she's just selling it? And that's that?' he heard Callie asking,

'Yeah, seems so,' Amelia answered.

'Who's selling what?' he interrupted, returning the small smile Amelia sent his way.

'Meredith's selling the house, says it doesn't feel like home anymore,' Alex told Owen whilst Callie continued to express all the reasons she thought it was a bad idea.

By the look on Owen's face Amelia understood this was the first he was hearing about this and tried to send her own apologetic expression in return, he smiled and nodded at her to let her know that he didn't blame her for not having said anything sooner. Disturbed by their pagers going off, Amelia and Owen excused themselves from the others as Callie called after them that she hoped they had a good budget meeting. Owen noticed as Amelia immediately tensed he wanted to ask what that meant but realised now wasn't the time.

Later that day Owen was surprised by a knock on his door, he wasn't expecting anybody, but noticing Amelia's bag on the floor he realised she'd come over to collect it. What he didn't expect when he opened the door was her standing there with her arms full of groceries. Understanding his shock she started to explain that she wanted to say thanks for the previous night and she'd noticed how empty his cupboards were so she thought she could make dinner for the two of them. Realising she was going to keep rambling and would probably start talking herself out of it he took some of the bags from her and stepped aside to let her in. Looking through the bags he was struck by how much food she'd bought,

'Amelia, this is way more than we need for one meal.'

'I know, I was just kind of hoping that…' looking down at her feet unsure how to continue, he finished for her,

'You were hoping you could stay again tonight?'

Offering him a hopeful smile she responded 'Maybe.'

'Of course you can, stay as long as you need.' He responded as it if was the most obvious thing in the world.

Releasing a breath she didn't even know she was holding 'Thank you Owen, I promise I'll barely be here. As soon as I find my own place I'll be out of here.'

The two continued to unpack and make dinner whilst he smiled to himself, enjoying the domesticity of the two of them cooking together.

Once they'd finished Owen suggest they sit outside for a while, it was a clear night and relatively warm for this time of year. Once they were settled she turned to him to apologise for not telling him about Meredith selling the house earlier, he doesn't blame her and says that he'd been thinking it was time that he found somewhere for himself.

'Won't you miss being able to reach your toaster from your toilet?' she laughed.

'Hey, I might.' he defended, 'But it's time for something else. Coming back I've realised that it's time I go and do all of those things that I've been wanting to do for so long. I've been stuck here ever since Cristina left and now it's time for something else. I want children, I've always wanted children and it's about time I did something about that. I've been looking into adoption, do you have any idea how many kids there are out there that need help? Help that I could give them? I just… it's time you know?'

She felt her heart breaking during his speech. He was right, it was time for him to have children, to have a family; she just realised that she'd been hoping that it would be with her. But this was good for him, they weren't anywhere near being in that place right now and she couldn't fault him for wanting to help those children. Reaching over she took his hand in hers, squeezing it as a sign that he had her support.


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed and the two of them settled into a comfortable routine, helping each other to look for flats between shifts and enjoying being able to come home to one another at the end of the day. It terrified Amelia how quickly she'd grown comfortable with it all, how everything seemed to be falling into place. She was constantly holding her breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop; but she couldn't help it, she wanted more with Owen.

She was just finishing a consult with a patient when her pager alerted here to an incoming trauma, a family were returning from a camping trip when their car had been struck by a drunk driver. Running to meet the ambulance she found Meredith already helping the paramedics to bring their patient into the ER. Pushing her current feelings towards Meredith aside she listened as they listed all of the injuries whilst she looked over their patient. They needed to get to an OR straight away if they had any hope of saving this young girl.

After hours of endless struggles to save her they succeeded, but there was still a long road of recovery ahead. Walking out of the OR they encountered the parents screaming at one another, the stress of the day and other problems they'd been facing had finally caught up with them and two doctors felt like they were witnessing what could be the end of this marriage. Knowing they needed to control the situation Meredith stepped forward to inform them of their daughter's status, 'Mr and Mrs Bruckner? I'm Dr. Grey. We've just finished operating on Katy. She's doing fine, we had a couple of scares along the way, but she made it through. I can take you to see her if you like?'

Leading the way Meredith filled the parents in on the more intimate details of their daughter's case whilst Amelia answered any questions they had regarding her head injury. When they arrived at their patient's room Meredith and Amelia watched as the Bruckners raced forward, taking Katy's hands in theirs, reassuring themselves that she was going to be fine. Feeling uncomfortable standing next to Meredith as she felt herself becoming emotional Amelia excused herself, claiming she had other patients she needed to check on.

Later that evening Amelia returned to Katy's room to check on her, finding Mr Bruckner there too. 'Hi, I'm just going to do a couple of routine checks on Katy if that's alright?'

Running through them as quickly as possible she assured them both that everything looked good and that Katy was on her way to making a full recovery, noticing how Katy quickly fell back to sleep. She started to leave when Mr Bruckner stopped her, 'I just don't know how I'm going to do this on my own.'

'Excuse me? I'm sorry, I thought you and Mrs Bruckner were still together.'

'We were, until about an hour ago. Things have been different recently, she's changed. Her dad died a couple of months back and since then she's just blocked me out no matter what I do. I just can't do it anymore, we fight everyday about everything. That was the whole point of this camping trip, to bring us back together as a family, remind us of what was important, but it's torn us apart. I need her, I can't do this without her, but she said that she can't stay anymore, that she felt that our marriage was suffocating her. What am I supposed to do now? My baby is lying in a hospital bed after some drunken idiot crashed into our car and the love of my life has walked away from both of us, how could she do that? I get that she's hurting but Katy needs her. I need her!' Mr Bruckner span away from Amelia, trying to hide the tears that had begun to pour down his face.

Placing her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture Amelia answered, 'She just needs some time. Trust me, she'll soon realise everything she's given up and she'll come running back to you and you need to be here waiting for her, ready to tell her everything that you just told me. You all need one another, especially now, this is the hardest thing you are going to have to get through. This is when you need your family and when your family needs you. But until then, you can do this. You and Katy will make it through until your wife comes back.' Seeing Mr Bruckner nodding his head as he calmed down she started to leave the room, stopping when she saw Meredith standing outside having clearly heard everything she just said. Brushing past Meredith she set out for the closest on call room, wanting to be alone with the thoughts of how far away her family seemed and how she was losing the only ones nearby. Sitting on the bed she buried her head in her hands and tried to control her breathing when she felt two arms wrap around her,

'I'm sorry, when it happened I just shut down and all I could think of was what was happening in that hospital room right there and then. I should've called you, I should've given you a chance to say goodbye properly and I'm so sorry that I took that away from you.' Pulling away Amelia looked up into Meredith's face.

'Thank you, it means a lot that you said that. I know this has been hard for you and I'm sorry that I haven't been around more to help with the kids.'

'They've been asking after you, wanting to know why Auntie Amelia has been spending so much time with Uncle Owen.' Meredith nudged Amelia's shoulder with her own while Amelia felt a blush spread over her cheeks. 'I was wrong about that too you know, you're good for one another.'

'We're just friends, I mean we were more at one point, but what we were I don't know. I ruined that though, pushed him away so we're just friends now.' Seeing the understanding on Meredith's face Amelia realised that they were going to be fine too.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Owen was sitting in the cafeteria, playing with his food whilst lost in his thoughts. He'd been for a couple of meetings with an adoption agency but nothing was looking too promising, they had concerns with the irregular hours that he worked, the fact he wanted to do this alone and he didn't currently have a proper apartment or house to live in. He didn't notice the others come and sit with him until Amelia placed her hand on his knee, giving it a light squeeze, silently asking if he was alright. Offering her a small smile in response he excuses himself when his pager goes off, leaving Amelia to wonder what's really going on with him.

She finds him later shouting at an intern in the hallway, remembering when he criticised her for doing just that she grabs his arm, tells the intern to go and drags him into the nearest on call room. 'Want to explain what that was all about?' she questions, shutting the door behind her.

'We nearly lost a patient today because of him, how simple is it to check an airway? He doesn't deserve to be here if he can't even do something as basic as that!' Owen answered as he paced up and down the room. Watching him move like a caged animal, she couldn't help but feel attracted to the power that he was clearly trying hard to control. Realising now was definitely not the time to act on that she moved towards him, 'Owen, what's really going on?'

'I told you, he was incompetent and it nearly cost someone their life. God, it's times like this I wish I was still Chief so I could get him kicked off the programme straight away.' Finally looking at her he realised she didn't believe a single word he was saying. He dropped down onto the bed and released a long breath. 'I've been meeting with an adoption agency,' he finally admitted.

'That's great, that you're getting this whole thing started.'

'Yeah, apart from the fact that it's going to go nowhere,' seeing the confused look on her face he continued. 'Apparently not working a 9-5 job, being single and living in a trailer doesn't look too good when you're trying to adopt a child,' she felt his pain at the self-deprecating smirk that overtook his face. Before she has a chance to answer his pager sounds, alerting him to a new problem his patient faces and he rushes out of the room.

She spends the rest of the day attempting to come up with a way to help Owen but she doesn't know enough about the adoption process to really be able to offer any insight. All she knows is that he's going to make a wonderful father one day, that he's already ready to be one. She's watched him interacting with Zola, Bailey and Ellis and she has no doubt that any child that has the privilege of calling Owen Hunt 'dad' will be very lucky indeed. As she's about to head home for the day she gets called into an emergency surgery, ruining any chance she hoped of having of talking to Owen properly when she gets home.

Hours later she finally makes it back to his trailer absolutely exhausted. Wanting to just collapse straight into bed she's surprised to see April sitting on the couch with Owen. The two of them were clearly having an important conversation over a couple of beers. April turned to see who had let themselves into Owen's trailer, she was sure he'd locked the door after her, so who else had a key to get in? To say she was shocked to see Amelia standing there would be an understatement, and her confusion was clearly written across her face.

'Sorry for interrupting, I didn't realise Owen had anyone round. Let me just grab my things and I'll be out of your way.' Amelia attempted to apologise as she made a move to grab the things she'd need to spend the night at Meredith's. Startled when Owen caught her hand in his as he explained there was no need as April was just leaving anyway. Turning around she could see all of the questions April had beginning to form in her head and the anger that was beginning to form at the answers she was creating for herself.

'Yeah, thanks for the advice Owen. I'll see you at work tomorrow.' She said as they both stood and she picked up her bag and coat, making her way to do the door.

Owen turned to Amelia, 'Give me a second?'

'Sure.'

He followed April out, catching her on the deck just outside, 'There's nothing going on between us. She just needed somewhere to crash for a bit.'

'You really expect me to believe that the two of you are sharing the trailer and nothing has happened? I'm not stupid Owen. Can't you see she's just going to hurt you? Exactly like Cristina did. You deserve so much more than that!'

'Don't you dare talk about her like that! There is so much more to her than you know. Sure she has her issues but so do we all. You of all people should know that after we just sat in there for hours talking through yours and you've seen me go through mine. It's nothing like it was with Cristina, I know you all see how similar they are, but to me they couldn't be more different. Yeah they're both committed to their careers and will do whatever it takes to give their patients the best care that they can, but there's something to Amelia that I never saw in Cristina. Not that I'm trying to take anything away from her, I loved her and we shared something incredible, but it was never going to work. Now Amelia and I are just friends, but if one day we decided to make it more than that then that would be our decision and there wouldn't be any question of her deserving me because what she deserves is so much more than that.' Realising he'd revealed far more than he ever intended Owen quickly wished April goodnight and made his way back into the trailer to find Amelia clearing up.

'Is everything OK?' she could see the weary look in his eyes and the tension across his broad shoulders.

'Yeah,' he moved towards her, wrapping his arms around her and placing a kiss on top of her head. 'I'm going to go to bed now, thanks for tidying.'

'No problem, I'll be through in a couple of minutes too.'

She watched him leave, curious about the sudden display of affection, but deciding to leave it for now as he obviously was in need of some comfort and she wanted to be there for him in any way she could. Finishing the last bit of cleaning she made her way into the bedroom to see Owen already in bed reading a medical journal she quickly got ready for bed and cuddled up to him, 'I'm sorry for interrupting you and April earlier, if I'd known she was going to be here I'd have just gone straight to Meredith's.'

'So you two sorted things then?'

'Yeah and I'm glad we did, I was beginning to miss those little babies really badly.' She felt him smile against her head.

Expecting him to question why she was still staying at his when she and Meredith had made up she was pleasantly surprised when instead he handed her some papers containing the information on some flats he'd found. She definitely wasn't ready to talk about why she wanted to stay with Owen for longer. 'I found these earlier today, they're all good but only one really grabbed my attention. It's close to the hospital and the place itself looks great,' he went on.

'That's fantastic, so are you going to put an offer in?'

'That was the plan but I wanted to run something past you first.'

'Well now you've definitely piqued my curiosity,' she responded with a flirty smile.

'It's a three bedroom place, more than I need on my own,' he began to explain as he picked out the sheet of paper with the information about the property on it. 'I know that I'm looking to hopefully take in a child soon so that might change things but I was wondering if you wanted to get it with me, at least for now. I just thought it was ideally located for the two of us and you don't worry about having to find somewhere else.'

Pushing herself up so she could look at his face all she could see was the sincerity and underlying nervousness in his eyes, 'That sounds great.'

The relief that washed over his face brought a smile to hers and she lowered herself back down to rest her cheek against his chest.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day at work Amelia can tell that April clearly has an issue with her and after they scrub out of surgery she confronts her about it.

'You really think that you can just screw around with Owen and that everyone would be alright with that?' April retorts.

'Look I know I hurt him before but it's not like that between us anymore,' Amelia replied assuming Owen had told April the whole story last night.

'Before? So you've already done this to him once, was that not enough for you? He's not like you, he doesn't do casual sex, he gets attached, so just leave him alone.'

'We're not having sex! Why is everyone so convinced that we can't just be friends? And why are they so sure it's any of their business? Look, even if we were there would be nothing casual about it, he means too much to me for that to ever happen, OK?'

Beginning to realise how much Amelia and Owen cared about one another April felt the fight leaving her. 'I'm sorry, I didn't realise. I thought it was just sex between the two of you and I saw how much that screwed him up the last time with Cristina.'

'It's fine, it's because you care about him and I can understand that.' The two exchange smiles, glad that they've cleared the air.

'Just as long as you know that I'll kick your ass if you hurt him again.' They share a laugh as they make their way to their next patients.

Owen and Amelia don't see each other much outside of the hospital over the next few days, both being kept busy with work and both having to pack all their things and moving into their new place. This gives her plenty of time to think over her new plan. She wants to help Owen with the adoption and now he's solved the problem of needing a permanent address she's going to tell him that she wants to do this with him, adopt a child that is both theirs. She wants children and as soon as Owen told her how he wanted to adopt she wanted to join him in it. Now she's had time to think it over she's even more sure that it's the right decision. So that night over dinner she proposes her plan to him and is overjoyed with how he positively he reacts.

The two arrange a meeting at the adoption agency for later in the week, both still excited over the prospect of doing this together. Unfortunately it doesn't go any better than Owen's previous ones, 'Can you believe she said that?' Owen exclaimed as they walked back into their flat. 'Questioning us about why we aren't married? Like we're teenagers in our first relationships who have no clue about the reality of things. And don't get me started on what she said about you, so what you have a past? Everybody does. They didn't seem to care about mine, but obviously I'm 'cured' so there's no risk of me having a bad day ever!'

Placing her hand on top of his where it rested on the counter she calmly replied, 'Owen, I know this is hard and it's all looking a little dark right now but we can do this. You are going to be a father, an incredible one, we just have to be patient and wait for this to run its course. We always knew it would take a while.' Taking a deep breath to build up her courage she continued, 'I'm sorry, I've just caused more problems for you. I should have seen this coming; after all I destroy everything that I care about, why should this have been any different?'

'None of this is your fault. I wish you'd stop being so convinced that it's always your fault. You're going to make a wonderful mother; anyone with half a brain can see that. I know that we just need to be patient, to prove ourselves. It's just that I can't help thinking that this isn't going to work. Maybe she was right, perhaps we should look into other ways of having children.' Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes he realises this isn't the time to talk about that, 'I'll do some research and let you know what I find alright?'

A couple of nights later Owen decided it's time to approach Amelia with what he's found. He's realised it's their best option, but he has no idea how she's going to take it. Coming home from work he finds her watching the TV and realising it's a film she's already seen hundreds of times before he hopes she won't mind him interrupting her. 'Hey,' he says to catch her attention.

'Hey,' she smiles up at him.

'How was your day?'

'Just the usual you know, some easy surgeries in the morning and paperwork in the afternoon. How about you?'

'Yeah something similar.'

Realising he was avoiding talking about something she asked, 'So what is it you're hiding?'

'What? I'm not hiding anything.' She quirks her eyebrow in response. 'Fine, I think I might have a solution for us.'

'Really?! What is it?'

'How would you feel about IVF?'

'IVF? That sounds good to me, we can have a child that's our own and not have to worry about convincing some snooty lady that we're ready for this. So how are we going to choose a surrogate?'

Taken off guard by her response, 'Why would we be choosing a surrogate?'

The colour drained from her face, 'You want me to carry the child?'

'I understand it's a huge ask of you but we can do this together, I'll be here to help every step of the way. Plus where would we even begin to look for a surrogate?'

'We work in a hospital full of people with information on this kind of thing I'm sure we can find someone to help!' she argued.

'OK, if that's what you really want we can look into getting a surrogate. I'm sorry I just presumed if you were alright with IVF you'd be alright with that too. I let myself get carried away and didn't think of how big an ask this would be of you.' Leaning back against the couch he ran his hand over his face, starting to mentally compile a list of all the things he needed to sort out now.

'It's not that,' she said it so quietly he barely heard her at first, 'It's not the changes my body will have to go through that I mind. It's what my body could do to the baby that I mind.'

'What?' he looks over to her, seeing her curling up into a little ball and messing with the throw on the couch,

'My son was anencephalic.'

He reached over, taking both her hands in one of his, 'Mia,' that caught her attention. He hadn't called her that since they'd broken up over a year ago and she'd missed it so much. He'd only called her that in intimate moments, when it was just the two of them, and it made her feel so close to him again.

'What if I can only make broken babies? I can't do that again,' pulling her sleeve down to wipe her tears away.

'You know that wasn't your fault right? You can't blame yourself for that one.'

'But what if it happens again?'

'I bet you already know all of the statistics about this don't you?'

'4% chance of recurrence,' she automatically quoted.

'4% chance? You're worried about 4%? God Mia,' lifting his other hand to caress her face, forcing her to look at him, 'If this was a patient you'd tell them there was nothing to worry about. You are able to have perfectly healthy babies and you will.'

She pulled away from him, walking away from the couch, 'You don't know that! You have absolutely no way of knowing 100% that any child I have will be healthy.'

'So what if they aren't? What if there is something wrong with them? Would you love them any less?'

'No, obviously not!'

He slowly started to approach her, 'Then what does it matter? Any child you have will be beautiful and so loved,' wrapping his arms around her, feeling her burrowing in as close as possible to him. 'Why don't we talk to someone tomorrow? Get a professional opinion. Then we make a decision about getting a surrogate alright?' Feeling her nod against him he tightened his hold on her, 'But Mia you have to promise me something.'

Lifting her head she looked at him so openly that he knew she would promise him the world if she could, 'What?'

'Promise me that we'll be open and honest with one another? That you'll tell me when you're worried and scared and that you won't try and hide it all alright?'

'I'll try.'

'That's all I ask,' he smiles as he places a kiss to her hair.


	6. Chapter 6

To the wonderful person who messaged about the format, thank you!

They decide that in order to keep some semblance of privacy they would each go to get tested alone and hope that nobody put one and one together. Owen hated that this was the only way Amelia would agree to do this; he wanted to be there for her. He knew how hard this was for her and he loathed that he couldn't be in there with her. He kept telling himself that there's nothing for them to worry about, they've both managed to produce children before and there wasn't anything she could've done for her first baby, but he can't help it. Finding her as soon as he could he realised she was happy, as much as she was trying to hide it. He felt his heart fill with joy at the small smile that she keeps trying to hide, 'Dr Shepherd will you be using a titanium cervical plate during the procedure?' he hears one of her interns ask her and he can't stop the smile that's overtaking his face. She really is incredible; how she managed to go through everything she did and still become one of the top neurosurgeons in the country he'll never know,

'You should take a picture, it'll last longer,' Callie says into his ear, having noticed him staring.

'What? No, I wasn't, it isn't,' sighing he realised he wasn't to get out of this one. He began walking, leading them down the corridors of the hospital.

'So you and Shepherdess, what's going on there?'

'Nothing, we're just friends,' the sound and face Callie produces clearly shows she doesn't believe him at all.

'Naked friends? Oh come on Owen I know you definitely were at some point.'

'What? How?' He knew he hadn't said anything to anyone and he very much doubted Amelia had been gossiping about them.

'Relax, we were talking about relationships in the workplace during surgery and all the clues lead back to you.'

Sighing he shakes his head, 'Yeah we were something, I thought we were more than something but she…we wanted different things, it was never going to work.' It felt good for him to finally be able to talk to somebody about this. 'Maybe we were right before, perhaps we only get a certain amount of happiness and I used all of mine up with Cristina.'

Callie hadn't realised how hard Owen had fallen for Amelia until right then, she assumed they were hooking up, after all everyone in this hospital did at some point. Before she had a chance to offer any comfort Owen's pager called him to the ER.

Racing to the ambulance Owen could feel his heart racing as he saw Sarah Longman climbing down, realising that he knew the man on the gurney, her husband; a man Owen had served with. Rushing to help her he tried to calm her down so he could find out what happened, 'We'd taken Andy to the park and there was this man there, he had a gun. Matt went over to try and…I don't even know what, you know what he's like. He got shot Owen, I ran over and there was just blood everywhere. Please, you have to save him.'

'I promise you we will do everything we can Sarah. We're going to have to take him straight to the OR, I'll come and update you as soon as I can.'

'Dr. Hunt there are no ORs free.'

'What?!' he can't believe what he's being told, how are there no ORs available? He needs to get this man, his friend into surgery straight away. It shouldn't be too complicated, his stats looked good and no major organs had been hit, but they couldn't afford to wait.

'Bailey's colectomy overran so Dr. Taylor took OR 3, the one we'd left open for trauma, expecting another to open up soon,' one of the nurses explained.

His mind was racing, what the hell did Dr. Taylor think he was doing blatantly ignoring hospital protocol? 'We can't wait, check if anyone can close up and give us an OR. Until then we're going to have to do this in a trauma room,' he ordered leading the gurney to the closest available room. What should have been a relatively simple procedure just became a much more complicated one, he didn't have half the equipment he needed and he couldn't guarantee how sterile the environment was. Commanding everyone for what needed to happen he got to work.

Hours of toil and improvisation later Hunt removed his scrub cap, throwing it into his locker and kicking the door shut. They hadn't been able to move to an OR when one became available, Matt hadn't been stable enough for it. Hearing people entering the Attendings' Lounge he quickly left needing some privacy, completely ignoring Callie calling after him. She'd heard he had a case involving a soldier he used to serve with and she wanted to check on him but she knew there was no way she could get through to him right now, but she had an idea of somebody who might, 'Shepherd,' she summoned the other woman over, 'Owen needs you. His case has hit him hard, I just saw him go into the on-call room.'

'What happened?' she remembered the last time something like this had happened with the place crash and she hoped to god that it wasn't as bad as that.

'I'm not sure, it involved one of his old army buddies. That's all I know sorry.'

'Thank you,' she threw over her shoulder running as quickly as she could to Owen. Stepping into the on-call room she saw Owen sat on the bed with his head in his hands thanks to the moonlight, he hadn't even bothered to turn the light on. Locking the door behind her she moved over to him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and placing a quick kiss to the side of his face, 'I'm so sorry Owen, Callie told me. How are you?'

'I'm fine, just pissed at Taylor. Can you believe he did that? What? His elective surgery just couldn't wait?' she could see the anger rolling off him in waves.

'What are you talking about?' she'd assumed he'd lost a friend, how was Dr. Taylor involved in this?

'He took the trauma OR for a facelift. For a facelift Amelia, of all the things…I had to operate on a gunshot victim in a trauma room,' pushing away from her he walked across the room. He needed to get his temper under control; shouting at her wasn't going to help anyone.

'Then I guess your patient was lucky to have Major Hunt on his side. Everyone here knows that you'd be the only one capable of dealing with that, Kepner maybe, but you're the only one with the necessary experience to make that work.' She hated that she had to ask the next question, 'Did he make it?'

'Captain Matthew Longman is currently in recovery with his wife and son,' Owen responded completely emotionless.

'That's a good thing, you should be celebrating right now. Hell I'd be over at Joe's right now having a drink, you know if I could,' sure it hadn't been the ideal setting to save his patient but he had done it.

'What if I hadn't done it? What if I'd made Sarah a widow? Or taken Andy's dad away from him? They'd just taken their son to the park and this happened,' he moved to sit down next to her again.

'Even if you hadn't been able to help it wouldn't be your fault. You would have done everything you could for him, I know you would. You're never going to be able to save everyone Owen,' there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that he would go above and beyond the call of duty for every patient he worked with if it was necessary. 'Speaking of families though, I got my test results back.'

'Yeah?' he'd completely forgotten that they'd started IVF process this morning in the chaos of the day.

'Everything looks good and healthy. They've given me some injections to start on and once they've worked we should be able to start the whole thing. You know in a little over a month we might be finding out that I'm pregnant.'

'And you're alright with that?' he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, she'd been so worried earlier he couldn't understand why she was so calm now.

'Yeah, they said they'd watch me like a hawk to make sure everything stayed on track but it's not just that. I don't know how to explain it, it's like now the opportunity is here I can't help but be excited about it. We can do this Owen, I know we can,' sure she still had some doubts, but right now it was like none of them mattered, all she could think about was the possibility they could have a beautiful, healthy child at the end of it. Noticing how close they were sitting she made a move to create some distance between them but was stopped by his hand on her lower back drawing her back to him. His hand came up to cup her jaw as his lips met hers, enjoying the feeling of her body melting into his, 'Not again,' she moaned as they both heard her pager going off. 'I have to get this but we'll talk later?'

'Sure,' he nodded letting her go.


	7. Chapter 7

He spent the whole night thinking over what had happened between him and Amelia. He definitely wanted to be with her but there was something holding him back. They were both going through so much and his head was all over the place, was now really the best time to be starting such a big commitment? He didn't even know if that's what she wanted. The whole time anything was going on between them he thought they were on the same page and then she'd told him she didn't have any more to give, he'd lied when he said he wasn't hurt. After all he'd initiated the kiss, she hadn't pushed him away, but perhaps that was all it was, just a kiss. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about it though, he needed to go check up on his patients and get down to the ER. Walking in he spots April and Amelia chatting, glad the two seem to be getting along he heads over to greet them, 'Morning.'

Hearing his voice Amelia turns to him, a smile lighting up her face, 'Morning.' She'd spent the whole night thinking about them too and had realised that she wanted it. She wanted everything with him. Wishing that they were alone so she could tell him she attempted to create some light hearted conversation between them, leaving April amused as she watched the two attempt to converse so awkwardly.

'I'll see you later Amelia. I finish at six so does eight sound good?' April inquired.

'Yeah sure. Could you let the others know too please?'

'Of course.'

Confused about what they were talking about Owen waited until April had left before asking, 'What was that about?'

'Oh I was just having some of the doctors round, like a sort of girls' night. I know I should have probably checked with you but you're working tonight so I figured it probably didn't affect you all that much,' she apologised.

'Don't worry about it, it's fine.'

'Great,' realising this might be the only opportunity to get him alone she will have all day she decides to take the plunge. 'So about what happened last night…'

'Yeah,' he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck whilst searching for how to explain, 'I'm sorry about that, guess I just got caught up in the moment. We both have so much going on and I mean it's not like either of us in that place right now. So it's probably best we forget about it and move on.'

Feeling like he'd just punched her in the stomach she lost all of her confidence to tell him how she really felt, 'That's probably for the best.' Hearing her pager go off she'd never been more glad of an interruption. Excusing herself she quickly fled before she cracked in front of him.

Later that evening the women were all gathered round at Amelia's gossiping about what had been happening at the hospital lately, 'I can't believe you said that to him!' Callie marvelled at Maggie's story of how she'd convinced a patient to allow her to try an experimental procedure on him.

'Well I've never found it hard to bring the thunder when I'm at work, it's in every other area of my life I have difficulty. I mean as soon as I step away from the medicine it's like I become a nervous little girl again and I end up overcompensating which of course terrifies any guy who ever thought about trying to get close to me.' Maggie shared as she collapsed against the back of the couch, cuddling into Amelia's side.

'Tell me about it. When you try and keep them at arms length they still find a way in and then when you finally drop your defences with them they decide they don't want you anyway,' Amelia agreed.

Turning to look at Amelia Maggie continued, 'Who have you been seeing? You're always at the hospital, when do you find time to get out and meet people? Oh my god, you're seeing someone at the hospital!'

'What happened to your not dating co-workers policy?' interrupted Arizona with a smile playing on her lips.

Glaring at her Amelia answered, 'I'm not seeing anyone. I just thought momentarily that there might have been a chance, but then it crashed and burned and that is exactly why I have that policy.'

'Who was it? Was it another doctor? A surgeon?' Maggie questioned, getting more and more excited as she went on.

'Yeah Amelia, who is it?' Callie teased, knowing full well who it was.

'It doesn't matter. I thought that maybe something was there but I was wrong. I mean you don't kiss someone like that just to take it back, but maybe he's right. Perhaps I missed my chance with him and now he's going to find someone else to have it all with,' feeling the emotion starting to bubble up again she cut herself off before she couldn't keep it in anymore.

'I thought you said there was nothing going on between you and Owen,' April accused whilst nursing yet another glass of wine. She was still broken hearted over what Jackson had said to her after they'd saved Keith and she decided that she wanted to forget about it all tonight, but fuelled by the alcohol she found herself spoiling for a fight. 'You told me there was nothing going on and yet you're kissing?'

'You and Owen? I knew it!' Maggie smiled, feeling pleased that she'd spotted it earlier on.

'There's nothing going on between Owen and I. Yes we kissed but he's made it very clear since then that he doesn't want anything and after everything that happened last time maybe it's better this way,' Amelia tried to reason with April.

'So you expect us to believe that you're just friends, please. You need to stop leading him on, he deserves better than that!'

'I'm leading him on?! He kissed me and then he took it back. I was ready to tell him that I wanted to try, that I wanted everything with him but he told me that we should just forget about it and move on.'

At that April broke down in tears, everyone was too stunned to move. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just…' she tried to speak through her sobs.

Amelia moved towards her, sitting down next to April she slowly wrapped her arms around April and held her close, 'I thought you were alright with the idea of Owen and I?' she asked.

'I am, it's just I see you guys and I can't help but remember when Jackson and I were like that. Back when I thought we had so many problems. Before I hurt our baby and ruined everything,' April revealed before collapsing against Amelia once more.

Turning her head to the others Amelia asked if they didn't mind giving them some privacy. Realising the evening had come to an end they collected their things together and started making their way out of the door, 'Arizona, could you call Jackson? Something tells me that she's going to need him tonight.' Amelia asked before they had a chance to leave and upon receiving a nod from the woman she turned back to comforting April.

'I need you to listen to me. I know that everything seems terrible right now and that it's all your fault and no matter what you do it just makes things worse but it's just not true. There was nothing that you did that caused your baby to have to suffer so much. You need to forgive yourself, you did everything you could to help him. I know that seems impossible, he was inside you, you were the one who was supposed to protect him; but there are some things you can't protect them from. You've not ruined anything, you had to find a way to deal with it and perhaps it wasn't perfect but no way is. I don't know what you and Jackson are going through right now but I do know that it must be so hard, I can't even begin to imagine, but you can get through this together.' Amelia had wanted to tell April she was there for her for so long, but she barely knew the other woman and didn't want to bring up something that might not have been her business to begin with. After she'd struggled through losing her child she wanted to help in any way she could, she couldn't stand to see someone else try and go through it alone. She wanted to be the person she wished she'd had to help her through.

'I thought I'd finally found it, the thing that would get me through. It felt so good being out there, helping. But he says if I go back we're over and I can't lose him, I love him so much. What am I supposed to do without him? But I need to go back, I can't live like this anymore, I just feel so useless and trapped.' April admitted.

Not knowing what to say Amelia just held her tighter, feeling her own tears falling down her cheeks at April's obvious heartbreak. Once April had calmed down she found herself wondering how Amelia knew all of this, she seemed to know so much about what April was going through, 'How do you know? I don't mean to pry but it's just you understand so well…'

'I woke up one morning and found my fiancé lying dead next to me. We'd decided to finish our stash of drugs the night before and were going to check into rehab the next day, but he died of an overdose during the night. It wasn't until months later that I realised I was pregnant and then it was weeks after that that I went for my first ultrasound. I just needed some time to get my head around the fact that I was pregnant with my dead fiancé's baby to begin with before I could even face the idea of being a mother and looking after my baby. The scan showed that he was anencephalic and by that point it was too late to abort. I had to carry him to term and I got to hold my baby whilst he lived for 43 minutes. He was perfect. Then they took him and I let them strip him for parts like he was some sort of machine. But he helped so many other children, he stopped so many other mothers having to go through what I did.' She hadn't meant to tell April everything but she couldn't help herself. Once she started she couldn't stop and she'd found it oddly cathartic.

The two sat there just holding each other until Owen walked in the door with Jackson in tow. Seeing his wife so clearly upset he rushed over, waiting for Amelia to release her before he took April into his own arms. Lifting her up he sat where she had been and lowered her into his lap, keeping her close all the time. Knowing they needed some privacy Amelia walked over to Owen and led him into her bedroom so they could talk.

'Is everything alright? I arrived home to find Avery at the front door and then I walk in to see you two cuddled together obviously having been crying, what happened?' the worry that was written across his face made her breath catch in her throat and she couldn't do anything but lean in to him, enjoying the feel of his arms coming around her.

'It's alright now. We're going to be alright now,' she muttered into his chest, finally feeling at peace over what happened to her son.


	8. Chapter 8

One month later they were at their doctors appointment to find out if their cycle of IVF had been successful. The doctor walked in with the result of Amelia's blood work and she found herself reaching for Owen's hand; this could be it, the moment that they become parents, 'So what is it?' feeling impatient she couldn't wait to know. 'Did it work? I don't know if I could go through with all those injections again,' she joked attempting to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the room.

'Amelia,' Owen pressed, wanting her to settle down so they could hear what the doctor had to say.

'Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Hunt,' Dr. Jenkins finally acknowledged them, 'I'm sorry to say that this time was not successful. It seems that there was embryonic arrest after it had been implanted in your uterus. Nothing could have prevented this and unfortunately it is quite a common outcome. We can try again whenever you're ready.'

Owen squeezed Amelia's hand, silently asking if she was alright and reminding her that he was here with her. They both knew that this woman was top of her field but they couldn't help but wince at her clinical tone.

'Look I know you're both doctors and know that there was only a 32% chance that this would work. What I don't understand is you're both healthy and still within the age range of easily being able to produce a baby naturally so why are you going through this? Your chances of creating a child would be much higher by doing so,' Dr. Jenkins continued.

Jumping in before Amelia had a chance to respond, 'Thank you for the advice. We'll think about things and let you know where we decide to go.' Standing up he pulled Amelia out of the room with him, knowing she wouldn't waste a second telling Dr. Jenkins exactly what she thought of her.

'Can you believe her? Not even the slightest bit of sympathy for the hopeful patients,' Amelia began.

'Well she's not wrong. We both knew this was the most likely result and she does have a point that we'd stand a better chance trying to create a baby naturally, but she doesn't know our history. Somehow I don't think the two of us having sex just to create a child would work,' Owen tried to reason with her.

'Yeah, you're right. Could you imagine? The two of us having sex again, bad idea right?' the only problem was she didn't think it was a bad idea at all. She'd spent the past month wishing that she'd told Owen how she really felt and trying to find the right time to do so but she'd barely seen him outside of the hospital.

'Terrible idea,' he replied feeling himself leaning in towards her. He'd spent the past month trying to avoid her unsure how much longer he could resist her. They'd grown so much closer as friends but it didn't stop him from wanting her every single time he saw her. Realising they were still holding hands he automatically gently pulled her closer to him enjoying the feel of her other hand coming up to rest on his chest. Remembering they were still standing in the corridor outside Dr. Jenkins's office he quickly pulled away, 'I've got to go check on patients. Let me know what you think about us trying IVF again.' With that he quickly turned away, he couldn't believe how close he'd got to dragging her into the nearest on-call room.

Later that day Maggie found Amelia looking through some scans at one of the nurses' stations and after seeing her acting stressed all day she wanted to check on the woman she now considered a close friend, 'Is everything alright? It's just you've seemed pretty tense all day and I wanted to make sure that you're OK.'

'I'm fine,' was Amelia's completely unconvincing answer.

'What is it?'

'Owen and I got our results this morning, unsuccessful.'

'I'm sorry, but you can try again. You're going to be a mom, I just know it.' She'd told Maggie that her and Owen were trying and was blown away by the support she had shown.

'Thanks, I know, it's not that. I'm just frustrated, I was so sure it was going to work and then our stupid doctor had to go and question why we were even having IVF in the first place instead of screwing one another,' Amelia ranted to Maggie.

'She what? That's completely unprofessional.'

'Tell me about it,' Amelia sighed. Looking around she spotted Owen and felt the familiar feelings of want growing within her again. 'I just need a night to relax, to work through all of this you know?'

Realising Amelia had been staring at Owen she agreed, smirking to herself.

'One night to get it out of my system.'

'Sure. Look your shift finished hours ago, why don't you go home and get a head start on that relaxing,' Maggie didn't really want to hear about how much Amelia wanted Owen but she couldn't stand to see her like this.

'You're right, I'll see you tomorrow,' Amelia responded, filing the scans away and heading off.

Owen came home that evening to find Amelia sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. He'd been hoping to grab a quick dinner and a couple of hours sleep before heading back to the hospital, after this morning he didn't trust himself to keep his hands to himself when he next saw her, but he couldn't leave her like this, 'Hey, everything alright?'

'Sure,' she stood up to start walking towards her room but knowing full well that she wasn't he reached forward to grab her arm, spinning her back towards him.

'Amelia talk to me, what's going on?'

'You want to know what's going on? You really want to know?'

'Of course I do, you know I'm always here for you.'

'Yeah you are, you're always here. Everywhere I go, everywhere I turn you're there.' He thought he'd successfully given her space this past month, after all that's what he'd been trying to create for himself. Was it possible he'd done something wrong? Had he missed something? 'You're always there in those goddamn shirts that do nothing to hide those muscles underneath,' she continued as her hands travelled up his arms, across his shoulders and onto his chest, feeling every muscle contract and flex beneath her fingertips. 'In these ties that make me just want to grab them and pull you close,' she picks up his tie, playing with it between her fingers.

Finally looking up into his eyes she sees everything she feels mirrored there so she tugs his tie, forcing him to her as they crash together. His jacket quickly hits the floor, followed by his shoes and their socks, as she works on loosening his tie, pulling his shirt free of his belt and attempting to undo the buttons. Breaking free from her lips he rips her top over her head before picking her up, loving how her legs wrap around him before their lips attack one another again and they fall against the nearest wall. She's struggling to get his buttons free, her hands shaking with desire and she can't stand not feeling his skin against hers anymore so she bunches the shirt in her hands, tearing the two sides apart and finally running her hands down his bare chest as he works his way down her neck, leading towards the point that he knows she's extra sensitive. Once he finds it her hips habitually grind against his, causing them both to groan at the friction it creates. Pushing off the wall he carries her to the closest bedroom, as she fully removes his shirt and he kicks the door shut behind them. Falling onto the bed he holds himself above her he looks into her eyes, silently asking if she wants this. She nods and then grabs his head, pulling him back down to her. Before she knows what's happening he has her jeans off and his hands are on her breasts. She reaches down undoing his belt and trousers as quickly as she can before forcing them down. Reaching behind her he unfastens her bra, throwing it across the room before returning his hands to her. Once he has a moaning he lets his hands wander over her flat stomach before firmly grabbing her hip and letting his fingers slip below the waistband of her underwear. Relishing in the sharp intake of breath he creates as he finds her and before he knows it she's coming apart below him. Deciding it's his turn she reaches into his boxers, pausing as she firmly takes him into her hand, she remembers exactly what drives him crazy and wastes no time getting started. He grabs her wrist and leans his face down to her ear, 'If you keep up with that this isn't going to last much longer,' and removes her hand from his. In response she grinds her hips against him once more causing a low growl to resonate in his chest. Smirking wolfishly at her he warns her that it's time for payback as he begins kissing his way down her body, pausing at her breasts once more before continuing downwards. Removing her underwear he kisses her inner thighs and notes how she grips the sheets in preparation of what she knows is coming next. Smirking to himself he delights in how one of her hands flies off the sheet and into his hair whilst her legs wrap around his head and her hips rock to his rhythm. Realising how quickly she's about to cum again he quickly changes pace, chuckling as she moans out his name and questions when he became such a tease. Before she can do anything about it he resumes his assault and before she knows what's happening she's attempting to gasp for air as another orgasm takes over her. Deciding she's had enough and all she wants is him inside of her now she pulls him up over her and pushes his boxers down before flipping them over. Straddling him she takes all of him, watching how her fingers tense involuntarily over his chest at the sensation and realises they both need a moment to take this in before they can continue. Thrusting up into her he gasps at how tight she feels around him and they quickly settle into a rhythm. He sits up, pulling her closer to him as their speed increases and she wraps her arms around him. She feels like his hands are everywhere at once but nowhere she actually needs them so she clings to him, wanting to feel as much of his skin against her as possible. Feeling her walls tighten around him he nuzzles into her neck as one of her hands threads into his hair and the other comes across his shoulders to hold him as close as she can whilst she gasps out his name. Flipping them over he adjusts her legs around him so he can push into her at the angle he knows drives her crazy and quickly feels himself beginning to lose control. She's continuing to spasm around him and he finally decides to let go as he hears her scream out his name one final time. As she recovers her senses she realises he's holding himself above her, remembering how he never wanted to collapse on her for fear of crushing her. Running her hand up her arm she draws him down, she always enjoyed feeling the weight of him pressed against her. As he collapsed she continued to run her hands over his back, soothing him and marvelling in the way his muscles played beneath his skin. Once they both have their breathing back under control he rolls to the side, pulling her with him so that she rested across his chest. 'So that just happened,' she joked.

'Yeah,' he exhaled on a chuckle. They both knew what they wanted to say to one another but had no idea how to.

Pushing herself up onto her elbow, supporting herself with her other hand on his chest, he reached to brush her hair back behind her ear, rubbing his thumb across her cheek, 'Maybe we give ourselves this. Maybe we give ourselves one night where we can do whatever we want, no consequences, and then tomorrow we go back to how things usually are?'

He knows he wants more than just one night with her, he wants a whole lifetime, but when she's pressed up against him like that and looking at him the way she is he can't find a way to no. Pulling her back to him he responds with a deep kiss revelling in how she breaks off to kiss her way down his body.


	9. Chapter 9

Another month had passed and the pair had finally decided it was time to try IVF again. They'd settled into a comfortable routine and had managed to avoid talking about that night, just as they agreed, no consequences. That didn't stop them from wanting one another though, they found themselves hyper aware of the other whenever they were near. They both wanted to just tell the other how they felt but both were too afraid of the response they might get.

That morning was the day of the first appointment of their next cycle of IVF and they were running late. Amelia hadn't been feeling well recently and it had caused her to become quite sluggish. She'd had a raised temperature and was felling slightly nauseous so had taken the past few days off work hoping some rest would sort it out, she'd been running herself ragged taking extra shifts in an attempt to avoid Owen. They both hoped they'd be able to get some answers about what was wrong whilst they were at the hospital. Rushing through the corridors they made it to their appointment just on time, 'Dr. Hunt and Dr. Shepherd, nice to see you so punctual.' Dr. Jenkins greeted them.

'Sorry, Amelia's not been feeling great recently and it slowed us down a little,' Owen explained.

'Well we can't begin the next cycle whilst you're not well. Hopefully it's something minor that we can treat quickly and easily so we can begin soon. I'll run some tests so we're able to diagnose and then dependent upon those results we can reschedule a new appointment. I'll put a rush on them so we should get the results later today,' Jenkins announced as she begin to prepare to draw some of Amelia's blood.

Knowing she couldn't go near any of her patients Amelia decided to catch up on some paperwork whilst she was here, Owen wasn't too pleased about her decision insisting she should be resting, but she couldn't stand another day of doing nothing around the flat. Losing track of time she was surprised when her phone went off, noting the hospital number calling her she realised it must be her test results. Hanging up the phone she sat there in shock, how had this happened? She didn't understand, it made no sense. After everything that had happened this is what they got? A knock on the door startled her from her reverie, Owen had dropped by to see if she wanted to go for lunch. Immediately realising something was wrong he crouched down in front of her, seeing the tear tracks down her face for the first time, 'Amelia, what is it? What's wrong? Are you feeling worse? I can take you home if you want.'

'I just got a call from Dr. Jenkins. My results came back.'

He felt like he was going to be sick, part of him didn't want to know what the results were, he didn't want anything else bad to happen to her, 'What is it? You need to tell me Mia. I need you to tell me what's wrong.'

'Nothing's wrong.'

'What's going –'

'I'm pregnant,' she interrupts before he has a chance to finish his question. 'Yeah, apparently that one night left us with a little souvenir. One that we'd been trying for every other way possible and of course it happens like this.'

'Are you serious?' he asked unable to stop the smile that was overtaking his face.

'Yes,' she nods, her smile matching his own. She felt him pull her into his embrace, both overjoyed at the news.

'Thank you,' he whispered into her ear as he held her as close as possible.

Months pass and everyone was so happy to hear their news, but they can't believe that the two of them still aren't together. Callie couldn't take it anymore, they were having a baby together and whilst she knew that didn't mean they had to be together she'd never seen Owen look at anyone else or act the way he did with Amelia. Chasing him up the stairs one day she decided it was time to find out what was really going on, 'Hunt, you got a second?'

'Sure, what's up?'

'I was just wondering what's going on, with you and Amelia.'

'Excuse me?'

'Like what, are you guys together now? Oh my god are you going to ask her to marry you? That would be so cute, I mean you already live together and have the baby on the way,' she couldn't help herself once she started, the thought of Owen, one of her closest friends, finally getting everything he wanted got her quite excited.

'Torres you know none of that is happening. Yes we live together and yes we're having a baby together but that's it,' he responded.

'But Owen you obviously want so much more than that, why are you settling?'

'I am not settling. Having a child with Amelia is not settling. Do I wish that it was under different circumstances? Yes. Do I wish that we were together? Of course I do, but that isn't what she wants. It's always been just sex to her and I can't do that, not with her. So yeah, we live together and we're having a baby together and that is it. We're just friends and that's all we'll ever be,' storming off he didn't see Amelia standing further down the corridor, having only heard the end of what he said. She felt her heart breaking at his declaration that they'd only ever be friends, sure this probably wasn't the best way to start something but he sounded so sure, so convinced. Her pager reminded her that she had patients to see and wiping the tears from her eyes she made her way to them.

Hours later she was finishing some notes on one of the tablets at the nurses station when she heard someone approach, 'Dr. Shepherd.'

Looking up she saw Conner Harrison, a member of the hospital's legal team. He'd been involved in a case with one of her former patients, an annoying couple she'd treated when she first started working at the hospital who claimed she'd been negligent to try and win some money but nobody believed them and they had no proof to support their claim. The two of them had enjoyed some friendly conversations, occasionally becoming slightly flirtatious, but she never thought it would go any further than that, 'Come on Conner, you know you don't have to call me Dr. Shepherd when we're not working together. What can I do for you?'

'I was wondering if you wanted to go grab something to eat after your shift?' she hadn't expected this, hell she figured everyone at the hospital was convinced that she and Owen were together.

'Sure, that'd be nice,' still reeling from what she'd heard Owen say before she decided that for one night she didn't want to think about any of it. She didn't want to sit in her room reminding herself that she was pregnant and that taking anything would harm the baby as well as herself.

'Great, I'll see you later,' he replied with a smile that she couldn't help but compare to Owen's. She tries to return it, knowing it doesn't quite reach her eyes, but right now she just doesn't care. Excusing herself as her pager calls her to the OR she rushes to the next emergency.

Walking out of the OR she smiles at Maggie's excitement over her date. She'd told her during their surgery, hoping she'd be able to convince her she was doing the right thing, 'I've just realised I have absolutely nothing to wear. I haven't got the time to go back home so I hope wherever we go likes scrubs.'

'Lucky for you I've got a dress here. Last time I was on call I was paged in from some boring cardio event and I haven't taken it home yet,' Maggie reassured her. 'So what are you going to tell Owen?' she hadn't wanted to ask in front of everyone in the OR but she couldn't wait anymore. She thought the two of them were finally working things out, they seemed to be in a good place.

'Do I have to tell him anything? It's just one date, we're going for dinner not anything that's going to put this little peanut in danger,' she replied resting her hand protectively over her stomach. There was only the smallest bump there, only really visible to those who knew what to look for and her scrub top hid it completely.

'I just thought you guys were you know…'

'We're just friends, he made himself very clear about that,' sensing Amelia's disappointment over the issue Maggie smiled sympathetically at her before dragging her to the Attendings' Lounge to help her get ready for her date.

His day hadn't gotten any easier since he snapped at Callie. So many patients had been brought to the ER, barely any of them making it through and he wasn't even sure that the ones who had would make it through the night. All he wanted was to head home and not think about any of it. Seeing Amelia waiting by the front door he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was, her thick hair falling in soft waves around her face bringing out the deep blue of those eyes he found so mesmerising. He started to make his way over to her when he saw Conner approaching her. He watched as Conner pressed a kiss to her cheek and placed a hand on her lower back, leading her out of the hospital. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; she was pregnant with his child and here she was leaving for god knows where with another man, 'What's up with you?' Looking to his side he realised Callie had managed to walk over without him noticing, 'Aaah, I thought you guys were just friends,' she commented as she observed Amelia clearly dressed up for a date leaving the hospital with another man.

'We are.'

'Yeah, you might want to tell your face that.'

Sighing he looked at her, letting her see all the annoyance he was feeling currently, 'It's just what, she's pregnant with my child and now she's going off god only knows where with strange men to do god only knows what?'

'That man is a member of our legal team, I think we can trust him to keep her safe,' she smirked at the glare Owen sent her way. 'Look, if you're just worried about her and your babies safety then you can relax, she's obviously not going to do anything that puts either of them in danger, she loves that baby far too much already for that. But Owen it's obviously so much more, why don't you just tell –'

'No,' he cuts her off, 'there's nothing to tell her. If this is what she wants then this is what she gets.' He stormed off clearly miserable about what he just witnessed, leaving Callie wondering how the hell things had ever ended up like this for the two of them.

She ended up enjoying the date much more than she thought, it was exactly what she needed to not have any pressure or expectations for one evening. Saying goodnight to him at her front door she pushed it open to find Owen watching the TV, 'Hey.'

'You're home late,' he stated, not allowing any emotion to slip into his voice.

'I just went out for dinner is all.'

'That's all is it?'

'Yeah, I've got to eat haven't I?' she didn't understand where the anger she could tell he was feeling was coming from.

'Sure,' he scoffed returning to look at the TV.

'What the hell is that supposed to mean? I went out for dinner, big deal.'

'Were you ever even going to tell me?' he'd been stewing over this for hours, turning it into a monster in his head.

'Excuse me? I didn't realise I needed to run my schedule past you.'

'Would you have even told me if I hadn't been here?'

'Probably not because it's none of your business!'

'None of my business?' he couldn't believe her. 'None of my business?! I'm pretty sure the fact that you're carrying my child makes it my goddamn business.'

'How dare you! If I want to go out to dinner with someone else that is my choice. I'm not doing anything to endanger our baby and you know I never would. You do not get to dictate what I do just because you got me pregnant!' furious she storms out of the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

The two had been ignoring each other since that night, only saying what was strictly necessary and at times yelling that. It caused all the other doctors to be on edge around them, nobody wanted to be in an OR when they were working together. April decides she's had enough, she's sick of watching them waste what they have, after seeing how good they were together and how happy they make one another she can't stand by and watch as they continue to fall to pieces, not when she knows how incredible it is to be in love with someone and know that they love you back. She'd lost that and it was her single biggest regret and after Amelia had helped her finally come to terms with Samuel and Owen had always been there for her she decided she couldn't sit back and do nothing for any longer, 'Dr. Shepherd, have you got a second?'

'Sure, what's up?'

'I was just wondering if everything is alright? No strike that, everything clearly isn't. What happened? You and Owen were so happy and now you can barely be in the same room as one another,' April realised handling this with kid gloves was never going to make Amelia talk.

'What happened is he showed me what disgusting, misogynistic pig he can be. He thinks that just because I'm carrying his baby that he has control over what I can do and who I can do it with. I am a neurosurgeon, I am more than capable of making decisions regarding my own body and the welfare of my child,' she retorted.

'What? That doesn't sound like Owen at all. Are you sure that's what he meant?' April couldn't believe Owen could act like that, in all the years she'd known him he'd never done anything like that.

'I never realised he was so desperate to have a child that once he got one that would be all he cared about. I'm not some incubator whose only purpose for existence is to carry his offspring,' Amelia continued not wanting to listen to April. She knew it didn't fit with the idea of Owen she had in her head, he'd never said or done anything that would make her think of him like that before, but perhaps she'd been wrong. Maybe she'd been so head over heels for him she'd missed all the signs.

'I've got to say I agree with April here,' neither of them had noticed Meredith approaching. 'I saw him when Cristina was pregnant and he never acted like that once.'

'Of course you'd all take his side. You see him as some sort of trauma god who can do no wrong and what am I? Hurricane Amelia always sweeping through and destroying everything,' she could hear herself becoming more manic.

'Now that just isn't true. Yes Owen is a fantastic surgeon but he's not perfect and no neither are you. I just can't believe he'd ever do something like that,' Meredith tried to placate her.

'I have to go look after my patients,' Amelia finished before brushing past them, leaving confusion and disbelief in her wake.

Meredith couldn't get her head around it, sure she hadn't always agreed with how he treated Cristina but he'd never tried to control her, not like Amelia was suggesting. Knowing Amelia's tendency to be quite dramatic at times she decided to find Owen and see if she could hear a more rational explanation of what had happened. Finding him trying to get some sleep in an on-call room she decided this was more important currently, 'Dr. Grey what are you doing?' he asked as she sat down on the bed he was lying in.

'What happened between the two of you? You were both so happy, she was doing so well and now she's screaming about how you're trying to control her in the middle of the hospital.'

'She what? I'm not trying to control her.'

'So what is going on?'

'I screwed up, I saw her with another man and I couldn't help it. I don't know where any of it came from. I accused her of not looking after our baby properly when I know she'd never even think of doing that,' he admitted.

'OK. You need to sort this. You need to sort this right now. It's affecting both of your work and everyone else at the hospital. Not to mention you're both clearly miserable,' Owen raised a brow at her, not knowing where this sudden show of support was coming from. 'Look, I know we haven't always got along but she needs you and the guy you are with her isn't the same guy you were with Cristina. Neither of us could give her everything she needed so she had to go find it somewhere else and it took me a while to accept that; but you can be what Amelia needs. You've both been through so much and you really don't need me to tell you how little time you really have, so go and make it count.'

All he could do was nod in response, realising he and Meredith had finally reached some sort of understanding.

Having finished her rounds she found herself with nothing to distract her from her feelings towards Owen. Reaching into her pocket she found her phone and bringing up a phone number she never thought she'd call she brought the phone to her ear, 'Hey Conner, it's me…yeah sorry I know it's been a few days, it's been a bit crazy around here…'

Arriving home that evening he finds Amelia cooking some dinner at the oven. Approaching slowly he holds his hands up as she turns to look at him, 'Can we talk? No yelling and screaming at one another, just talk,' he asks, relieved when she nods her head in response. 'I'm sorry, I was worked up from a stressful day and coming home to an empty flat not knowing where you were didn't help. I know it's no excuse but I am sorry.'

'You should be.'

'Amelia, I'm trying here. I didn't ever mean to make you feel like I was trying to control you,' so he'd heard about that she thought to herself. 'I was just tired and scared and took it out on you, I'm sorry.'

'I'm sorry too. I know you didn't mean that I just couldn't figure out where any of it was coming from,' summoning courage she wasn't sure she had she continued, 'I don't know how you're going to react to what I have to say next but in order to keep things honest and open between us I'm telling you that I will be seeing Conner again. I will not be doing anything that will put myself or our baby in danger and you need to trust that. If you have a genuine worry about the man I chose to date then you are free to tell me because you are my friend and I respect what you have to say, but you do not get to tell me what to do. Alright?'

'Alright,' she can see he clearly isn't happy about it but she knows he won't say anything to stop her again unless he has a legitimate concern.


	11. Chapter 11

She'd been on a couple of dates with Conner now and they'd really been enjoying themselves but she still hadn't told him she was pregnant. She couldn't figure out how she was supposed to tell him, just sit him down one night and shout surprise? Perhaps she could find a way to distract him if he got mad. Her morning sickness was starting to subside and she could feel her libido kicking up a gear. Perhaps now was the perfect time to start taking advantage of that? Hearing a knock on the front door she goes to answer assuming it's one of their neighbours with their mail yet again. Seeing Conner on the other side of the door wasn't what she expected, especially as she was standing there in one of Owen's old army t-shirts that clearly had 'Hunt' embroidered on to it which successfully covered the shorts she was wearing underneath but not her baby bump, 'Conner, what are you doing here?'

'Dr. Hunt asked me to drop these papers round. I'm sorry but what's going on?' she can see the confusion and fear written across his face.

'Trust me it isn't what you think, well I guess part of it is, but it's not as bad as you think. I promise,' she had hoped she'd be able to explain this to him on her terms but she didn't really have a choice now. Letting him in she walked him over to the couch as Owen walks through the door.

'What're you doing home?' he immediately asked Amelia. 'I thought you had a surgery.'

'It got pushed so I decided to come home and get some rest.'

'Hey Conner, sorry I got stuck in traffic. Shall we get started?'

'What's going on here?' Conner asked, his mind was leaping to all sorts of conclusions none he wanted to believe. He liked Amelia and really hoped that she had a really good explanation about all of this.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I assumed you already knew and when it became obvious I had no idea how to. It's not really the kind of conversation you slip into a date. I'm almost four months along and yes the baby is Owen's but there's nothing going on between us now, I promise we're just friends,' she attempted to explain but it sounded feeble even to her own ears. Meanwhile Owen simply stood back trying to take all of this in, she hadn't told him she was pregnant? How the hell had that happened? How had Conner not noticed her bump?

'Alright, I just need some time. It's a lot to take in at once. Here are the papers you asked me to drop round Dr. Hunt, I'll get them back from you some other time,' Conner excused himself before rushing out of the door.

'Why did you invite him round here? Why didn't you tell me you were going to so I could answer the door maybe looking slightly more put together. I can't believe he found out this way, he's going to hate me. I'm the crazy girl who was pregnant with some other guy's baby and didn't tell him. What if he thinks I was going to try and convince him it was his? Why didn't you tell me? Or did you want this to happen? Is this your way of trying to get rid of him?' she accused, getting more and more hysterical as she went on.

'I had no idea he didn't know you were pregnant and I thought you were in surgery so excuse me for not telling you he was coming round,' Owen retorted. She had nothing to say in return so left to go to her room. Sighing he sat down to start looking through the papers that Conner had brought over. He couldn't concentrate, his thoughts were constantly drifting to her and how good she looked standing there in his shirt, pregnant with his child. He gave up when he heard soft cries coming from her room, ignoring her protests as he walked in and lay down next to her, bringing her into his arms.

'These stupid hormones, they keep making me act all crazy. I was going to tell him when the time was right. When I knew that it was worth telling him,' she sobbed into his chest. Snuggling into his embrace seeking the comfort she knew she could only get from Owen she closed her eyes. She hadn't really believed he's been attempting to sabotage her relationship but her head was all over the place at the moment. Eventually Owen realised she'd fallen asleep and attempted to extricate himself from her, but she clung to him so he stayed. Studying her as she slept he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her looking so peaceful; well he could, it was the night they'd spent together, but he refused to think about that, it could only bring him pain. Laying his head down he finally let the exhaustion he constantly felt wash over him as he drifted off to sleep.

He watched her over the next couple of days, unsure how she was going to take this abrupt challenge to her budding romance. She seemed alright but he knew she had to be at least a little upset. He had no idea how close the pair had actually become but she'd been a lot quieter since that day. The truth was she wasn't upset at the possibility of losing Conner as awful as that sounded, it was that she viewed this as her one chance to really try and move on from Owen before the baby came. Conner seemed like a decent enough guy and she honestly thought that given enough time she could develop some real feelings for him, now it seemed like she'd never know. Agreeing to go for a drink with Callie after their shifts he sees Conner sitting on his own at the bar, excusing himself he makes his way over, 'Hey.'

'Hey, sorry I haven't been round to get those papers I've just been busy,' he attempted to make some excuse for his avoidance of both Amelia and Owen.

'That isn't why I came over.'

'Look, I don't want to stand in the way of you two. You don't think everyone in that hospital talks about it? The woman who finally cracked the almighty Major Hunt after his heart was broken. All the ladies love it, the injured hero returns from the war to come home and save more lives. You guys are like hospital legends. I just thought that things we were working out between us but how the hell am I supposed to compete with that?' downing the rest of his drink as he finished.

'You're not. You're not supposed to compete with me. Amelia isn't some prize that one of us wins at the end of this, she's an incredible woman that either of us would be lucky to be with. But that isn't what I came over here to say. She misses you, she tries to pretend that she doesn't and hide it but she does. She's an amazing neurosurgeon who cares so much about every single one of her patients. She has so much to give and you can see it in the way she treats her friends and her family. Yeah, there was something between us at one point, but whatever that was it's over now. You really should give her another chance,' Owen explained, hoping it had been enough to convince Conner to at least talk to Amelia one more time.

'Another chance to lie to me? How could she not tell me she was pregnant?'

'That's Amelia. She's going to do so many things that you won't understand but that's because that's who she is and after what she's been through you can't hold it against her. She's so strong and acts like nothing can hurt her but it can. She was starting to let you in, don't make her regret it,' Owen responded with a hint of warning to his voice.

A few days later Conner finds Amelia at the hospital, asking if they can go somewhere to talk, 'I'm sorry I kind of disappeared on you, it was a lot to process. But I'm here now and I want to give us another shot if you do?'

'I do,' she agrees as she moves to hug him. 'What made you change your mind? I thought I was never going to hear from you again.'

'I just needed a bit of time to calm down,' he explains before pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day at work the chief called Amelia to his office. Walking in she was completely blown away to see Addison sitting in front of the desk, 'Addie! I can't believe you're here. Why are you here?' she questioned whilst giving the woman she considered to be the one of the closest family members she had left a hug.

'You really thought you could go through a whole pregnancy and I wouldn't stop in to check on how things are going?' Addison responded, clearly a little hurt that Amelia thought exactly that. 'The chief was just extending me surgical privileges as I'm going to be around for a while.'

'That's great,' she stopped to check her pager. 'I have to go but we'll get lunch OK?' she called over her shoulder.

Finding each other later in the cafeteria they catch up on what's been going on and Addison explains that she, Jake and Henry are renting a place in Seattle for the next few months, 'That's great, we should all get together and have dinner.'

'Yes we should. Now would that we include the father of your baby?'

'Well I was thinking bringing my boyfriend Conner might be a better idea,' she attempted to joke.

'Alright then, I'll get Jake to make us some reservations for this evening. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some patients I need to catch up on,' she was curious why Amelia would rather her meet Conner over the man who had got her pregnant but she didn't want to push yet. Finding out the identity of this man first would probably be a good idea.

That night they enjoyed a delicious dinner along with some light and friendly conversation. Addison's pleased to see how well Amelia and Conner seem to get along but it strikes her that there doesn't seem to be any great substance between the two so she becomes curious as to why Amelia is so determined to make this relationship work.

Owen realises that Amelia seems happier since Addison came back which he's glad to see, what he doesn't like as much is the increased amount of time she's been spending with Conner. He'd come to accept he was jealous and would probably always be jealous of any other guy she dated but there's nothing he can do. He doesn't want to risk ruining their friendship by saying something that will get her angry or find out that she doesn't feel the same at all. Having spent the morning in surgery together Addison and Owen agree to grab some lunch together. They never really got to know one another the previous times she'd been at GSMH and she was intrigued about how Amelia clammed up whenever Owen was brought up in conversation, 'So I'm guessing you have questions about me being the father of Amelia's child.' He decided the best way was to approach this head on, he'd never heard stories of Addison Montgomery gently easing her way into anything.

'You're the what?' so that's why Amelia hadn't wanted to talk about him.

'She didn't tell you?' shaking his head he realised he should've expected this from Amelia, especially after Addison hadn't already tracked him down to confront him about it. 'Yeah, it's me.'

'I thought you and Cristina Yang were…'

'We were but it didn't work out. She's in Switzerland now running the Klausman Institute.'

'I heard, very impressive.'

'Yeah,' he feels the awkwardness of this encounter increasing. He hadn't meant to tell her he was the father, he assumed she'd already know. 'Look I know you care for Amelia, I do too. I'm not going to do anything to hurt her. She's happier than I've seen her in a long time and I think a lot of that has to do with you being here.'

Studying Owen for a moment she's taken back by the sincerity she sees in his eyes, he really does care for Amelia, probably a lot more than he meant to let on. He obviously doesn't know everything about Amelia's past she gets the impression that he understands Amelia in a way she's not sure anyone else had before. His pager interrupts her before she has a chance to respond and she's left there to begin to plot.

Deciding to go to Joe's for some catch up drinks with Callie and Meredith Addison finds the perfect opportunity to get some information on what really happened between Owen and Amelia. 'I don't think any of us knew it was going on until it had already finished,' Callie informed her as she took another sip of her drink.

'I did. She came home one morning wearing the same clothes as the night before, Owen wasn't far behind,' Meredith supplied. 'Derek knew too, I think he was really happy for them.' Seeing Meredith's eyes mist over at the mention of her late husband Addison placed her hand on her knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

'It just seemed like he was really happy for a bit and then suddenly he wasn't. He went from being at work constantly after Cristina left to being this whole new guy and then this heartbroken guy. I keep seeing glimpses of him being happy again when they get close but one of them always pulls away,' Callie couldn't understand why her friend was so convinced to be miserable. He'd found a woman he loved and it seemed he wasn't going to do anything about it.

Hearing this along with what she'd already figured out for herself Addison felt less guilty about meddling in these people's lives, if Amelia and Owen weren't going to sort themselves out she was going to do it for them.

She decided to throw a dinner party, hoping to see Owen and Amelia interacting outside of the hospital. The doorbell rings signalling their arrival and she excitedly opens the door. Their evening is incredibly enjoyable, sharing stories from the past and laughing at fond memories. Addison can't help but feel that there was something more to this evening, something that was lacking from their dinner with Conner but she can't explain what it is. Clearing the table she and Jake miss Henry coming downstairs in his pyjamas, he'd woken up from a bad dream and was worried when neither mummy nor daddy had come to find him. Returning to the room she watched Amelia watching Owen as he comforted the young boy. Amelia felt an odd sense of calm and right wash over her, seeing Owen interacting with this child opened her eyes to what her future could be. She knew he'd be a fantastic father whether or not they were together but she wanted to come home to this, she wanted them all to be a family. Sensing Addison's eyes on her she looked up and realised straight away that Addison knew exactly what she was thinking. Walking over to her she hoped to stop her before she said anything, 'Addison, I know what it looks like but trust me it isn't.'

'It isn't what it looks like? So you aren't in love with the father of your child? And you weren't sitting there watching him play with my son thinking about what it'll be like when he does that with yours? Then tell me Amelia what is it?' knowing from previous experience that Amelia only responded when confronted she went all out.

'I'm with Conner, I'm happy. Just because I watched a man play with a child it does not mean I am in love with him,' she argued back.

'But you are aren't you?' she disputed. 'Why aren't you with him? You obviously want to be. I've never seen you light up the way you do whenever he walks into a room. You have to stop playing it safe Amelia. I know it's terrifying and it can hurt like hell but you have to do it.'

'You don't know anything about what I have to do so why don't you leave it alone,' Amelia threatened.

Addison could see she was lashing out, feeling like she'd been backed into a corner, but she wasn't about to let up know when she'd made so much progress. 'You have to stop fooling yourself that you don't want a future with Owen, that you don't want everything with him. Sure Conner's a great guy, but he's not the guy for you and we both know it.'

'I don't have to listen to this. You don't get to walk back in here and act like you know everything, you know nothing!' she screamed at Addison before turning to leave. Having only heard the finale sentence Owen was confused at how to mood of the evening had changed so quickly. He could see both Addison and Amelia were hurt over whatever they were talking about and he wanted to help. Knowing the best thing for Amelia right now was to get her away from the situation he apologised to their hosts and took her home.

A couple of days pass and Amelia still hasn't spoken to Addison since the night of the party. She knows she's playing it safe by being with Conner but she can't take the chance with Owen. She would only bring him heartache and misery, just like every other man she had ever loved. Noticing a shift in her mood Conner asks what's happened but knowing she can't tell him the truth she lashes out at him, swiftly ending their relationship like it meant nothing to her. Finding her curled up on the couch in the flat Owen realises she's finally ready to talk. Sitting next to her he gently asks her what's wrong.

'I wanted so much for it to be right, to show her that she was wrong. But she wasn't, I was playing it safe and now there's no way I can go back. How I am supposed to go forward from here? I've never been here before. I keep hurting everyone who matters the most to me but I need them more than ever when I do. Everything's so different to how it used to be and I've no clue what I'm meant to do' finally collapsing into tears Owen caught her as she fell into his arms. He had no idea what she was talking about but he was going to be there for her whilst she figured it out.

'I know that everything seems pretty dark right now but trust me it's going to get better.'

'How do you do that? How do you remain so positive despite everything?'

'It's the little things you know? Some days it feels like everything's moving so fast I can barely keep my feet on the ground. But then I get to come home to you and our baby and that's enough,' running his hand over her stomach the baby gives it quite a forcible kick causing the two of them to laugh. Relaxing against each other they both wile away the evening just enjoying one another's company.


	13. Chapter 13

'Hey,' he looks up to see Callie sitting down next to him. 'Haven't seen you around here recently. What's been going on?'

'Oh you know work, this clinical trial is kicking my ass,' he'd been spending all of his time outside of surgery focused on it. They'd reached a dead end and neither her nor Jackson could figure out what to try next.

'Well you're you, I'm sure you'll figure it out,' she reassured him. 'So besides work what else has been going on? I feel like we haven't had a chance to chat in ages.'

'Just the usual, Amelia's nearly seven months along now, I can't believe it. I spent so much time imagining how my life was going to turn out, get married, have some children, and I've done all that, just not how I ever thought it would be,' dropping his gaze back down to his drink, he swirled the amber liquid in the tumbler as if it contained all the answers to the problems in his life.

'It never does. I never expected to be divorced from a man and then married to a woman after having a child with another man. But I'm glad it did you know. I mean yeah it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows but I have this beautiful daughter and I've loved and been loved. There's nothing more than that,' sighing, she wanted to slap him around the head and force him to sort things out with Amelia, but she knew he wouldn't listen to anything she had to say right now. 'Why don't you just take the night. There's a blond over by the bar who's been looking over at you constantly, I'm pretty sure she wants to try some of the Major Hunt charm. Then tomorrow you can start on getting that life you always wanted.' Squeezing his shoulder in a reassuring gesture she left him to his thoughts, rolling her eyes at the blond who made her way over as soon as she stood up.

Amelia had had a long, hard day but they'd managed to survive their patient against all odds. Maggie had asked her if she wanted to get a drink to celebrate. So caught up in their revelries she didn't even notice Owen was there at first and still running on the high from their success she started to make her way over to him. Until the crowd parted and she saw the other girl he was sharing a drink with. Turning around she walked straight out of the bar, through the rain, into her car and over to Addison's. Banging on the door, she didn't care if she woke Henry up, she needed her sister, 'Amelia what are you doing here? My god you're soaking wet. Get inside quickly, I'll go get you a towel.'

Sitting down on the couch she let Addison wring the water out of her hair as she let everything she'd been feeling for so long out, 'I've messed everything up again Addie. It's all so screwed up and it's all my fault. We shouldn't have slept together that night and now I'm pregnant and god I love him so much. Why can't he love me back? I tried, I tried so hard to move on. I found someone else, someone who could've loved me and I threw it away. For what? For this? So I could watch as the man who is probably the love of my life sit in a bar and flirt with another girl? What happened to me? I used to be fearless. I used to be able to walk up to any guy and have whatever I wanted from them. But with him it's different, I can't get away with anything. And now I'm stuck here, too scared to say anything to him and I try to find someone else but…'

'But they're not Owen.'

Nodding she agrees, 'But they're not Owen.'

Amelia's due date was quickly approaching and the pair had grown closer than ever. They'd both shared their pasts over many late nights and tubs of ice cream, she'd been craving the stuff constantly. She's begun to accept that perhaps this is how it's supposed to be. He's so comfortable with her now he doesn't think twice about hugging her or dropping a quick peck on her cheek, but she can't stop herself from wanting more. She tells herself that it's better this way, there's less chance of him getting hurt because of her. He doesn't make it easy though; constantly helping her with whatever she needs, back rubs when she's exhausted, bringing her favourite chocolates home when he knows she's had a hard day. Having his hands on her isn't helping with other matters either, it seems these days she just has to catch a hint of his scent and she wants to pin him against the nearest surface and have her way with him.

Her due date passes and it seems like nothing is encouraging this baby to come out. He just wants to help her, he's read everything, tried everything but nothing works, she just seems to be continuously annoyed at him. He can understand that, she's heavily pregnant and it's the middle of a boiling hot summer. Figuring asking someone with actual experience in the matter he tracks down Callie the next day at the hospital, unfortunately the only time she has free to talk is whilst she's having lunch with Addison. Feeling slightly intimidated by the two women he explains the situation, hoping they'd have some actually useful advice for him, 'You know when I was pregnant with Sophia the only thing I wanted constantly was sex. I swear it was the only thing that could relax me enough to distract me from the fact I was this huge whale for even a minute,' Callie told him.

'She's got a point you know. The body releases dopamine, prolactin and oxytocin during sex which will only help her feel better, not to mention the release of endorphins to take her mind off the pain. Plus it can help to trigger contractions and finally bring on her labour,' Addison agreed.

'Yeah perhaps you should take her home and show her a good time Hunt,' Callie giggled.

'Do you have any advice that isn't have sex?' he should have expected this from the pair of them.

'Wait, why isn't have sex good enough advice? Don't tell me you're one of those guys who can't get over the bump. You know all the increased blood flow she's experiencing will help,' Addison countered.

'I'm not having sex with Amelia just to make her feel more comfortable or to get our child out of her.'

'No you'd be having sex with her because you both enjoy it, god can't you help your girlfriend out?' argued Callie.

'She's not my girlfriend. We're not together. Why does everyone in this hospital seem to be under the impression we are?'

'Wait, you're not?' Addison's shocked expression said more than her words ever could. 'But she said...You'll have to excuse me,' she stated before rushing off, leaving a baffled Owen and Callie behind.

'You didn't tell him?' Amelia turns to face a rather angry Addison.

'Tell who what?'

'Don't act stupid. Why the hell haven't you said anything to Owen? You turn up on my doorstep soaking wet in the middle of night crying your eyes out over the guy and you haven't said a single word to him,' she couldn't believe that even after realising how much Owen meant to her and after everything Amelia had been through and seen others go through she hadn't told him. 'You need to tell him. He deserves to know Amelia.'

'Why do I have to say anything? Why do I have to be the one to get my heart ripped out again? Things are fine just the way they are,' she retaliated.

'No they aren't. You can't stop letting people in because they might hurt you. You can't bear to see him with anyone else and you can't stop him unless you tell him. That man is crazy about you but for whatever reason you refuse to see it. Now stop wasting time and tell him,' Addison stormed off not knowing how she could get this through to Amelia when she refused to listen.

That night Owen returns home to find Amelia still stewing over her fight with argument with Addison, 'Hey, what's wrong?'

'Nothing. I'm fine.'

As soon as those words left her mouth he knew she was anything but, 'Amelia for god's sake will you just tell me what is going on in that head of yours.'

'Just leave it alone Owen.'

'No, you don't get to be mad at me because I care about you. You don't get to snap at me for asking how you are.'

'Well apparently I don't get to make any choices for myself anymore. I don't have to tell you anything that I don't want to, that I'm not ready to.'

'What are you talking about?' he suddenly finds himself feeling completely lost in this conversation.

'God you and Addison just don't know when to quit do you. I don't need the two of you constantly breathing down my back, trying to tell me what to do.'

She keeps going on at him and he can't take it anymore, Addison and Callie's advice running through his head he cups the back of her head with his hand pulling her to him and covering her lips with his, cutting her off mid-tirade. Things quickly heat up between the two of them and he lifts her up to sit on the kitchen work top, not breaking their connection. His hand wanders under her shirt finding her breast, squeezing it through her bra causing her to let out a moan as she feels desire course straight through her. She's midway through undoing his belt when she feels a sharp pain cut through her midsection, pushing him away enough so she can see his face he can see the worried look in her eyes, 'Mia what is it? What's going on?'

'I think I just had my first contraction,' and as if on cue her water broke.


	14. Chapter 14

Her labour progresses slowly and all Addison can do is reassure her that it's completely normal. Owen's been called away on a consult, he wasn't supposed to be on call but he didn't think it would take too long to quickly check up on how a surgery was going. Unfortunately the patient rapidly declined and he had to step in to save their life as it became clear the operating surgeon was out of his depth. It's time for Amelia to deliver but Owen's still operating and he doesn't know how long he's going to be, all he knows is that if he leaves now this patient will die, 'I can't do this without him Addie, I need him here.'

'I know and he'll be here as soon as he can but I can't let you try and hold this baby in, it could harm the both of you,' Addison attempted to comfort her and make her understand that she was going to have to give birth whether or not Owen was there. They take her to the delivery room where she still refuses to do anything. 'Amelia I know you're scared and I know you want Owen but we can't wait any longer. Your baby is coming now. I am going to do everything I can to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible but I need you to work with me.' Seeing Amelia nod she instructs her to push as her next contraction takes over her.

'I'm so sorry I'm late, the patient coded and then…' Owen began to explain as he ran into the room.

'Just get over here!' Amelia screamed out during her next push. He quickly slides in behind her, taking her weight against his chest whilst she grabbed onto any part of him she could to get through this.

'And here is your beautiful baby boy,' Addison smiled at the two new parents. 'Do we have a name yet?'

'Noah Derek Shepherd Hunt,' Amelia replied as she felt her heart bursting with love looking at her son.

'We're just going to get him cleaned up and make sure everything's alright, I'll have him right back.'

Turning slightly in Owen's embrace so she could see his face Amelia finally allowed herself to relax, 'We did it. He's finally here, we did it.'

'No, you did it. You were incredible, it was all you,' brushing the hair off her face he swiftly leant down to press a kiss to her lips, meaning to pull away quickly he was stopped when her hand held him in place encouraging him to kiss her deeply, both of them pouring everything they were feeling in that moment into it.

Later, whilst Amelia was resting, Owen went to visit his son, 'You know we get some funky looking babies in here sometimes but yours actually looks normal.'

'Thanks Karev, I think,' turning back to look at his child he can't help but smirk at Alex.

'So what's the deal with you two anyway? I've got Jo pestering me about it day and night. Apparently you guys are meant to be or some crap,' Alex wanted to pretend that he was only asking to get Jo off his back about it but honestly he cared, Owen had helped him in the past and after having dealt with his parents he didn't want any kid to have to go through anything remotely like that.

'We're just friends. Could we be more? Yeah, but how can I take that risk when there's Noah to think about now? I don't want to hurt either of them and this is the only way I can guarantee that,' swallowing Owen cut himself off before he could reveal anymore. He'd been awake for 36 hours and he just wanted to climb into bed and hold Amelia close but he knew that wasn't his place.

'Look, I know what it's like to have a crappy childhood, where your parents seem to do everything just to hurt you. Trust me; having your parents split up is not the worst thing that can happen to a child. You two need to get over yourselves and figure this out,' running off as he heard one of foetal monitors sounding an alarm he left Owen to think about what he'd just said.

Amelia was finally being discharged from the hospital, but Addison was refusing to let her go until she had given her the whole spiel she gives all new parents, 'And remember guys you need to wait until all bleeding has stopped before having sex again, that will probably be about three weeks.' Watching Amelia's cheeks flame whilst Owen grabbed her things Addison leant in to whisper in her ear, 'I saw that kiss, you can't tell me it didn't mean anything.'

Sleepless months pass as they adjust to life as new parents. They're both too exhausted to even think about taking anything further between them and often just collapse wordlessly into bed together at the end of the day. Owen realises that Amelia hasn't been away from Noah since he was born and realises that perhaps she needs some time spent with other adults, who aren't sleep deprived and constantly covered in spit up. He convinces her to go for a couple of drinks with some of the other doctors, just to Joe's so she's able to get home easily whenever she wants. The evening comes and as she walks out of her room he can't believe he forgot how good she looked in those jeans. He feels the familiar protective feeling he gets whenever she leaves the flat looking incredible, which if he's being honest is whenever she leaves the flat, but he knows this will be good for her. He can tell she's a nervous wreck who's scared to leave her baby for the first time but he reassures her that he's more than capable of looking after their son for one evening and she's only a phone call away if they need her. She spends the first part of her evening constantly checking her phone and texting Owen to make sure everything's alright until Maggie takes her phone off her, convincing her to relax and simply enjoy tonight. They meet a couple of guys and have fun flirting with them but Amelia has no intention of taking it any further, she's already got her boys waiting for her back home. Realising this she calls it a night and gets home to find Owen asleep on the couch with Noah resting on his chest. Quickly snapping a picture she cuddles up to him, unintentionally waking him up as he lifts his arm around her and drops a kiss on her head, 'How was your evening?'

'It was good, I'm glad I went. But I'm so happy to come home to the both of you.'


	15. Chapter 15

Opening the door Owen greets him mum and John as he lets them into the apartment. They'd come over for lunch and Evelyn had wanted to see how her grandchild was doing, 'He's getting so big,' she cooed over the five month old. 'He looks just like you did when you were a baby Owen, well apart from the brown hair. Noah had inherited everything from his father apart from his hair that was as dark as his mothers. They enjoyed the lunch Amelia had prepared whilst they filled Evelyn and John in on everything Noah had been doing, the love they had for their child clearly showing in all that they said. 'Why don't you let us take him for the rest of the day? I'm sure you'd both love some time to yourselves. We can keep him for the night so you can get some rest, trust me I remember what it was like having one of these.' Owen and Amelia reluctantly took Evelyn up on her offer, they didn't want to be separated from their child but she was right, they could do with a bit of a break. Since it was a nice day out they decided to take advantage of it and walk through the park.

'I'm going to grab a coffee, do you want some tea?' Owen offered.

'Sure,' she smiled at his retreating back wondering how she ever got so lucky to have her life work out like this.

'Hey, fancy running into you here,' spinning around she was confronted with one of the guys she met at the bar.

'Hey Chris…'

'Clark, but close,' he brushed it off. 'You know I was pretty bummed when you had to go that night, what do you say we get together some time?'

'I can't sorry, I'm busy all of the time.'

'You don't seem busy right now,' he challenged.

Having heard most of their conversation Owen decided to step in before Amelia had a chance to unleash whatever diatribe she came up with on him. 'Oh sorry man, I didn't realise she was here with someone else,' Clark commented before continuing on with his jog.

'Can you believe him? I said no and it took him having to think I was some other guys property before he'd give up.'

'Why did you say no?' Owen was curious why she'd chosen to turn down the attractive jogger from the park who clearly had known her previously.

'Because I didn't want to, is that alright?' he could feel her defences going up.

'Of course, I was just surprised is all.'

Making their way back home she claims she's tired and is going to grab a snack before going to bed. Owen excuses himself and walks into his room to find his mother's engagement ring on his bedside table with a note telling him his father would've approved of Amelia, taking it as the kick up the ass that he needed he made his way back to Amelia finally ready to tell her how he felt. She turned to him holding a bottle she'd found in the cupboard, one she hadn't seen in years, one she didn't know he still had. Seeing the questions clearly written across her face he quickly jumps in before she has a chance to jump to any conclusions, 'Look I can explain.'

'Explain what?' she counters. 'It doesn't mean anything right? It's just a bottle of water, why should it have any significance to you? Why should the bottle of water I brought round to yours the night of our first kiss mean anything to you? You're the one encouraging me to see other guys, the one who keeps reminding me that we're just friends, the one that pushed me away in the first place!'

'I pushed you away?! You told me that we were a mistake! How the hell could I be the one to push you away when you never even let me in to begin with?' he argued back.

'What?'

'You've made it abundantly that all you ever wanted is something physical between us. I've had to fight you every step of the way just for you to let me in, even as just a friend. I know how hard that is for you and I'm so grateful that you've let me in as much as you have but if we were to ever take this further I need more than that. I can't be just another screw to you,' he continued.

'You never were! You took me by surprise and snuck past all of my defences before I even had a chance to put them up. You know everything about me and you understand it all without me having to say anything,' unable to stop herself she went on. 'I was falling in love with you, until Meredith reminded me that I ruin everything. Every man that I have ever loved has died and I can't go through that again, I can't do that to you.'

'Wait, what? Until Meredith reminded you?'

'She warned me off you, reminded me how much I could destroy you –'

'She what?!'

Continuing as if she hadn't heard him, 'and I can't do that you, I just can't.'

'Amelia, you're not going to destroy me by being with me,' his head tilting in the way that it always did when he became concerned.

'How do you know that?'

'How do you know that you will?' he countered.

'Because it's what happens every single time. I let someone in, I get close to them and then they get ripped away from me.'

'I'm not going anywhere,' he tried to reassure her.

'You don't know that!' she all but screamed at him.

Taking a breath to allow him a moment of pause, 'Yeah, you're right. I can't promise you that I'm always going to be here. But I can promise you that whilst it's still within my power to be here I will be.'

'Don't make promises that you don't mean,' he watched her shrink in on herself, seeing her become more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her before.

'Why wouldn't I mean that? Why wouldn't I want to be here for you? Be here with you?'

'Because you deserve so much more than I could ever give you!'

'You said before that you were falling in love with me, is that true? Could you still fall in love with me?'

'Yes!' she cried out as tears were streaming down her face.

'Then what more could I need? I'd have you, our son, our friends and family, and my job. What more could I possibly want or need?'

'But –'

'No, no buts. That's all I want,' believing he'd finally convinced her he moved in to kiss her but she sharply pulled away.

'We can't do this, what happens when it doesn't work? When you realise there's more for you out there? It's not just the two of us anymore. What happens to Noah when this blows up in our faces? When we become the plane crash you said is all we are,' she wasn't even trying to control the volume of her voice anymore.

'Why are you so sure it won't work between us?'

Mirroring his response earlier, 'Why are you so sure it will?'

He's had enough; he can't hold it in any longer, 'Because I'm in love with you! Because we're basically a couple apart from the fact we're not having sex. Because I've already been through this multiple times and I know that we have what it takes. Because I'd rather stand here and keep fighting with you than be doing anything with anyone else. Because you understand me, you understand what I've been through and you accept that and don't try to change me. But if you can't tell me that you feel the same way then I can't do this. If you don't then we will be that plane crash Mia and I can't do that. I won't survive it.' Seeing the honesty pouring of him she begins to consider telling him that she does feel the same, that she's in love with him and always has been. But she knows where that can lead and she won't put him through that. 'Look, if you don't want to be with me like that then we can pretend none of this happened. We can go back to being friends but that's all we'll ever be. I'll have to move, find someone else.'

Realising he was offering her an out she thinks it might be wise for her to take it, 'Maybe that's for the best,' and in that moment he realises that she never said she felt anything remotely like that for him.

'Right. I guess that's that. I'll find somewhere else to stay tonight so we can both cool off,' striding away from her he goes to his room to pack a bag. Meanwhile she stands in the living room realising that this is it, if she doesn't say anything right now then she's going to lose him forever. But can she do this? Can she take this risk with him?

'Where will you be staying?' she questions as he walks back into the room.

'I found a hotel room for the night,' the lack of emotion in his voice disturbs her.

'That's good.'

'Yeah,' and with that he heads towards to door.

'Wait,' he pauses with his hand on the door handle. 'I'm no good for you, we both know that,' she sees him stepping forward to interrupt her but she holds her hand up to silence him. 'I've done a lot of things in my past that I'm not proud of, but it's what brought me here. It's made me who I am and given me everything that I have and I wouldn't change any of that. I can't promise you that this will be easy, I can't promise that I won't hurt you but I can promise that I am willing to try. I can't lose you, I know that's incredibly selfish of me but I can't. No matter how much I hurt you or push you away I will always need you. You should just walk out of here now and don't look back, but I don't think I could make it if you did. I love you Owen, I'm in love with you and the only thing I know is that that is a dangerous thing.' He throws his bag to the side and makes his way over to her. 'Why are you smiling? Don't you see that you should be running as fast as you can away from me?'

He silences her with a kiss, pulling her as close to him as he possibly can. Separating he rests his forehead against hers whilst they both try to catch their breath, 'I'm smiling because the incredibly brilliant, intimidatingly clever, hilarious and beautiful mother of my perfect son who I am madly in love with just told me that she loves me too.' He kisses her again, 'and if that isn't reason enough to smile, then I don't know what is.' Seeing the fear that is still present in her eyes he continues, 'Look, I know we're both scared. There are no guarantees in this and that's terrifying. So we take it one day at a time, we stay honest with one another and talk about it, OK?' Watching her nod he picks her up into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom.

Gently laying her down on the bed he quickly removes both of their shoes and socks before joining her. She grabs his collar, pulling him towards her as they kiss one another deeply. Knowing this is the first time she's had sex since giving birth he tries to be considerate of her, but he can feel her getting impatient beneath him. Flipping them over so she can straddle him he wonders how he ever got so lucky to be with this woman as he notices the glint of mischief in her eyes. She kisses him again, grinding her hips into his as she begins to unbutton his shirt. She feels his hands travel under her top and breaks their kiss momentarily so he can remove it, but when she leans in to resume he stops her as he's admiring her body. Noticing her becoming uncomfortable and trying to draw her arms around herself he questions why she's trying to hide from him, 'I know I've changed. My body isn't the same one that you got to know. I'm covered in stretch marks and I haven't quite managed to shift all of the baby weight I put on.' He takes a moment to look at her before he lifts her up, carrying her over to the mirror.

'Mia, I need you to look in there and tell me what you see,' hoping to distract him she pulls his face down for another kiss, but he sees through her ploy. 'You haven't looked properly in a mirror since you gave birth have you?' Taking her avoidance of any eye contact to mean yes he spins her around so her back is pressed to his chest, his arm around her waist holding her steady. Brushing her hair off the side of her neck he leans in towards her ear, 'What do you see when you look in the mirror?'

Attempting to brush the whole thing off she answers flippantly, 'I see two people who were about to have incredible sex…'

'Mia,' he warns, he's not joking about this.

'Fine, I see me, but not the me I really am. Look, can we do this later? Once I've had a chance to get back to the way I was.'

'No we're doing this now,' he replies adamantly. 'Let me tell you what I see.' Starting at her face he works down her entire body removing any items of clothing she was wearing whilst telling her how beautiful she was and how thankful he was for all of the changes her body had undergone to give them their son.

With tears in her eyes she turns back to face him, 'Thank you,' she whispers before kissing him firmly. 'Now we definitely have to do something about how overdressed you are,' he lets out a small laugh in return before kissing her once more and leading them over to the bed as she works on getting him out of his clothes.

The following morning Owen wakes first, feeling so contented at the sight of her lying beside him. He grabs some sweatpants and goes to make them some breakfast. Realising he's missing Amelia wakes up and immediately starts to panic. Did he wake up and regret what had happened last night? But then she hears the sound of him cooking in the kitchen and throwing on one of his shirts and her underwear she joins him in the kitchen. Silently making her way over to him she wraps her arms around him from behind, running her hands over the muscles of his chest and stomach whilst she places a kiss between his shoulder blades and lays her head down against his back, 'Morning.'

Looking over his shoulder he replies, 'Morning, breakfast should be ready soon. Why don't you go take a seat.' As she's about to comply to his wishes there's a knock at the front door, 'Can you get that?'

'Good morning dear.'

'Evelyn! We didn't realise you'd be here so early,' she stepped aside to let her in.

'Well clearly,' she responded, taking in Amelia and her son's current state of dress. 'Don't worry John ran me over on his way into work, he's waiting in the car downstairs to drop me at a friend's so I'll get out of your hair.' She handed her grandchild over to his father, watching as he carried his son over to his mother. She discreetly admired the small family before leaving; she was so happy that her son had finally managed to have everything he'd ever wanted.


End file.
